A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Briegel, Wolfgang
BRIEGEL, Wolfgang Karl, church composer, born 1626, originally organist at Stettin, and afterwards (see the title-page of his then published works) Music-Director to Prince Friedenstein in Gotha, and in 1660 Kapellmeister to the Duke of Saxe Gotha. In 1670 he was called to Darmstadt as Kapellmeister to the Landgrave of Darmstadt, where he remained till his death in 1710. Among the remains of Emanuel Bach was a portrait of Briegel, engraved by Nessenthaler; it represents a man of about sixty-five, of healthy and jovial aspect, and with no trace of the labour involved in so many serious compositions. Schneider (das Musik. Lied, iii. 155) says, that 'perceiving the fashion of solo songs like those of Ad. Krieger and the two Ahles to be on the wane, he returned to the composition of songs for several voices; he wrote, in fact, incessantly in all sorts of styles with much fluency but no originality, and with no adequate return for his labours.' His principal compositions consisted of sacred songs for several voices, mostly to his own words. One of his works alone, for 3 and 4 instruments (Erfurt, 1652), contains 10 Paduaner, 10 Gagliarden, 10 Ballette, and 10 Couranten. His one secular work, 'Musikalisches Tafel-Confect' (Frankfort, 1672), consists, according to its quaint title, of 'pleasant Conversations and Concertos.' His Hymn-book for Darmstadt appeared in 1687. His published works, twenty-five in number, begin with 'Geistliche Arien und Concerte' (Erfurt, 1672), and end with 'Letzter Schwanen-Gesang,' consisting of twenty Trauergesänge for four or five voices (Giessen, 1709).
Gerber (Lexicon, 1812) gives a catalogue of his published works according to dates from Darmstadt, employed by Fétis in his 'Biographie Universelle.'